Penders agrees long-term Chelsea deal
- Published
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper Mike Penders from Genk next summer.
The 19-year-old will officially join on a long-term contract until 2032 in the summer of 2025, for a feel believed to be in the region of £17m.
Penders, a Belgium Under-19 international, only made his senior debut for Genk in July.
He kept a clean sheet and, at 18 years and 363 days, became the third-youngest goalkeeper to debut in the Belgian top flight.
It was expected that he would sign this transfer window and return to Genk on loan, but in signing next year it keeps open a international loan spot this season, with only six allowed by Fifa.
The deal adds to the Blues' already vast array of goalkeepers, with Filip Jorgensen, Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic, veteran Marcus Bettinelli and academy product Lucas Bergstrom all on the books.